“You must forget about Gabriel.”
“But…”
“Fated mates are forverer, Cora. I don’t know who is your fated mate but sooner or later you’ll find out.”
He tried to hand me cash but I didn’t accept it. There was a high chance this came from Gabriel. I felt sick in my stomach at the thought of taking anything from Gabriel. His image—an odd white hair, violet eyes, noble face—faded away from my mind. I’ll only hurt us, trying to keep this going. But what now?
Before he went, Ryder assured me that I still can rely on him. I thanked him but didn’t think it possible any longer. Gabriel was right, I shouldn’t go to the Bewitching Ball. I should’ve stayed home.
On my out of the academy with a bag full of books and a beautiful, cloudless blue sky, I remembered about the bookstore, and an acid pool settled in my stomach. I couldn’t do what these people expected of me. I ignored the urge to go there and instead let my feet take me somewhere else. At the back of my head, I knew there was a small park in the town with a picturesque view. I didn’t know where it was so, it had to be the scents of late summer trees guiding me there. My idea of what the world should look like was based on books, TV, and Alaska. But somehow, the abundance of the plants and bushes was out of the charts. No matter.
The sight of young shifters investigating leaves and older ones painting, reading, laughing lifted my mood substantially. I spied an overgrown bench at the end of the park. I struggled a little with twigs and plants but eventually, the beautiful panorama of the Blacktooth town rewarded me for the trouble.
I let the bag slide off my shoulder and closed my eyes. Alaska was such a frigid and cold place. I loved its secluded wilderness and the unforgiving climate. But I also fell in love with this place. I no longer could deny this, I belonged here.
“You shouldn’t do that.”
My eyes snapped out and I almost handed control over to my wolf. After the last time, I’d rather avoid this. A hooded man stood near the bench, hiding in the shadow of the tall bushes and trees.
“Who are you?” I didn’t recognize his voice.
He pulled the hood off his head. His face was a porcelain mask! Wait. Wait. Wait. What’s going on? What’s wrong with my pulse?
“What we did in the garden is wrong no matter how you look at it.”
“Wait? You’re my mysterious … my fated mate?”
“It was irresponsible for you to accept Catherine’s invitation. You should…”
I crossed the distance between us before he could finish the sentence. My lips glued to his and every argument, counter-argument, every word, vanished, rendered unimportant. He meant to push me away, but he failed more than I did in the art of deception. We desired ourselves so much we tried to tell each other and ourselves the opposite.
His tongue played with mine, an artful and gracious dance. Each stroke sent agony and pleasure down my bones. It was a sin to separate us. The sin we’d commit over and over. Until the time the fate says – check.
At that moment, the world decided to add some obstacles. The ground shook and a few moments later a town-wide message was relayed.
“BREACH! THE SECOND RING WAS BREACHED. ACTIVATE PERSONAL DEFENCE RUNES!”
“Hide in your house. I will send someone to take you to safety.”
“Wait! Who are you?”
He didn’t answer, taking the memory of the kiss with him.
What’s next?
A difficult time on the horizon for Cora. She must decipher who is her fated mate and I am not sure she is ready for this. Once the pandora’s box is open, the world will get crazy very quickly, not even including the madness that will appear with the breach.
But there is hope and there are people willing to sacrifice their lives to make the right thing and they believe in Cora.
I believe in her.
She’ll be fine.
But before that, she has to face her fate.
So expect action, love, tears, and a bit of sweat.
Expect the next pre-order up in about a week or two.
TRY THIS: The Blood of Dragons – The Academy of Dragons
Chapter 1
Fires danced around us as we fought. Local bandits had much to learn if they’d believed they could defeat us. Moments after I’d laughed Rabbon off, my tight-lipped friend Rust punched him. It has started this skirmish. There were only three of us, but we’ve survived the Wastelands for years and we have crossed many naive local gangsters who have sought to usurp our freedom.
They failed.
Rabbon wasn’t any different from them. A man with a peanut-sized brain and so he could not understand why we resisted. Ruins around us have burned as I’d unleashed my magical fire. It wasn’t anything spectacular. Simona, who knew all about the magical power scaling, had told me that I had the potential to reach level two. Not the most promising prospect in the world where power could reach level ten. And yet, whatever strength I wielded now, it was more than enough to deal with Rabbon’s band. He and his thugs weren’t exactly magically talented folks. They used guns and threats instead.
We stood our ground, three against fifteen. Four bandits have already been knocked out, but not killed. Taking other’s lives has always been the last resort. This world had its share of dead people. The war has raged for thirty-six years now, and as far as I could see, there was no end on the horizon.
Rust moved beside me, fast and efficient. His powers were supernatural but even Simona couldn’t categorize them. Rust was as strong as five grown men and faster than a galloping horse. But he couldn’t wield any magical power like me or shapeshift like Simona. It didn’t stop him from being a hell of a fighter in my eyes.
Rust’s fists flicked between thugs faster than they could aim their puny guns. Simona didn’t usually fight. She was the strongest of us three. She could change into an enormous panther with pure white eyes. Her strength tripled in that form, though she paid the price. Her mind has always suffered a blow in that form. Almost, as if she lost half of her intelligence. It returned to normal after she had reverted to a human form. Scary stuff.
While Rust beat the crap out of the gang, I made sure that no one would take him down from a distance. My fireballs were useful at picking the shooters out.
“You’ll fucking regret this!” Rabbon yelled as he ducked down, inches from the spot were my fireball hit. His headband fell to the ground, but the long greasy hair didn’t even stir. I flipped him a bird and promised that the next time my power would hit the target and burn the shit on his head.
“You’re high-spirited today, Flare,” Simona murmured as she watched the one-sided brawl.
“I have a good feeling about today—” As soon as the words were out of my mouths, I wished to take them back. A horrible feeling descended on me. Something bad was about to happen. My eyes snapped to Rust, searching for the source of the danger.
It didn’t come from Rabbon’s gang though. A shadow zapped and landed between the fighters, scattering them all over the place. In a heartbeat, Simona changed into her panther form. On her four she stood taller than me, and I wasn’t the shortest in a town.
“Take Rust and run, Flare,” she growled.
“Fuck off,” I snarled back. “I won’t leave you behind, Simona.”
Her massive head turned my way, canines long as my fingers glistened in the firelight. Anybody else would be scared to death, but I knew, it was her way of smiling.
Meanwhile, Rabbon’s thugs screamed in terror as the shadow turned out to be one of the shadow hydra hybrids. This one possessed only one sinuous neck but thicker than my waist. Its razor-sharp teeth snapped at the survivors of its charge. Only seven thugs and Rust remained. Rabbon yelled something unintelligible and bolted out of the yard where he and his thugs had ambushed us a half an hour earlier.
“It’s level three. We won’t beat it.”
Guns fired at it, but bullets’ weak kinetic energy could not penetrate the monster’s thick skin. Shadow hybrid
s stood above conventional weapons. I didn’t have the slightest idea of how to kill it. Fuck, but we should have run when Simona had said so, it was too late now.
Things happened faster than my brain could register them. Slashes and clatter, and suddenly the beast was down, four long and intricate spears protruding from its bulk.
Simona snarled. Rust stumbled back. Six thugs yelped and dropped to their knees. Rabbon was driven back into the yard, and I sensed a new presence behind us. What was that?! A monster of the third level killed in a matter of a nanosecond. How? The questions kept piling up, but at the moment I needed to focus. The next minutes could decide our future.
“Revert back to a human form, shapeshifter,” a voice behind us commanded.
Simona and I both turned around and found an impeccable row of soldiers in red armors. Their faces covered by closed visors. Spears in their hands, ready to stab at our hearts, and shields to counter any danger that could come their way. Simona shifted back, clenching her fists. In human form, her attributes were substantially weaker, but she could at least speak with sense.
“Dragon Soldiers,” she murmured.
I’ve heard stories about them, popping here and there, but weren’t they supposed to fight in the warzones against the Darkside, leaving the Wastelands to its own devices? A chill ran through my spine. I hope this town didn’t turn into a warzone! It’s my favorite place. I knew all the small fries here. Some of the local gangs believed they can shut us down but they were no threat to us. It was such a friendly place to live and if some cretin had decided to ruin it, I’d get angry.
“Everyone, freeze or die.” The command was issued from the mouth of the soldier with a lieutenant’s insignia. His red armor had a small etched crest of Great York City. The only place protected by the Holy Seal of the Light in a thousand miles radius. The Darkness had no business there. Same as us. Such a place was stuffed with rigorous rules and power-hungry jerks. Our trio preferred freedom. As long as we’ve been avoiding the Darksiders and warlords we were fine.
The straight row of the soldiers parted, and the lieutenant stepped forth. Like everyone else, his face was covered by the helm’s visor. It didn’t stop a menacing aura radiating off of him. Simona hissed. Her thoughts had to match mine. This man wasn’t a small fry. If such a monster was only a lieutenant. Gods help me. So this Dragon Corps wasn’t a joke after all. My knowledge has been built on the stories heard all over the Wastelands’ taverns. I’d discarded them as bullshit, now I wasn’t so sure.
“Do you belong to the Darkside?” the lieutenant asked. Of course not, you moron.
I heard thugs’ whimpers. The presence of the Dragon Soldiers deprived them of courage. Another legend that has been spoken in the dark corners of taverns. In the presence of the Light, even the Darkness trembled.
I didn’t even twitch. In fact, the opposite. I was fired up.
“Do I look to you like a spawn of the Darkness?” I asked heatedly. I didn’t care who he was. A stupidity ticked me off to no end. A band of soldiers had ambushed a trio of teenagers, fending off bandits, and he asked them if they belong to the Darkside? What the fuck was wrong with him?
Simona hissed warningly. She has played a leader of our little group, but if a time to step up came, then I was more than ready to take the reins.
“The Darkness can take many shapes,” the lieutenant explained with a touch of grandeur.
“Then how can I know you aren’t the servant of some Dark Lord or whoever commands the Darkside?” I snapped at him.
The soldiers, who a moment ago hadn’t even seemed to breathe, now stirred.
“You stupid bitch! You’re going to kill us all,” Rabbon yelled from the corner of the yard. Rust darted his eyes all over the place. He was calculating his chances to get us out of this mess. Eventually, he shook his head. We were done.
Chapter 2
“Arrest them!” The lieutenant lost his cool. The first soldier who reached Simona found a nasty ball of fire there.
“Stop it, Flare!” my older friend screamed as the Dragon Soldier blocked my attack with his shield. “Stop this, please!” Simona added uncharacteristically.
“I won’t let the bastards lay a finger on any of you,” I yelled back at her. Liquid fire awakened in my veins.
Five seconds later, the armored assholes have everyone restrained. A tip of a spear touched my neck to halt my struggle. The black clouds above us matched my current mood. To most they symbolized despair, but I had only dark angry thoughts.
The lieutenant approached us without a rustle. I squinted and found that no one was struggling. The Dragon Corps appeared to be too much for our ragtag group to handle, Rabbon’s chances were even slimmer. In my mind, frustration collided with an urge to be patient. Not a fucking chance that I’d let these jerks get away with this. If I must, I’d even travel to their city and file a complaint or whatever there was to do.
“Check them with the dragon compass,” the lieutenant ordered. “They have a stink of the Darkness about them.”
A dragon compass?
“What’s this dragon compass?”
“It tells the proportion of the Light and the Darkness in one’s soul. If you have more than sixty percent of the Darkness, then it means you’re one of the Darksiders.”
I didn’t have a clue what did he mean and I didn’t like it. Deciding people’s fate by using some compass? No thanks, I’ll pass.
They started with Rabbon, who whimpered and shivered, as the lamp-like device touched his chest. Two soldiers held his arms, while one measured the Darkness inside him. The fourth stood behind Rabbon with a spear trained at the gangster’s neck. These dudes were serious about this. They were going to kill us if their stupid compass gave them green light.
“Fifty-eight,” the soldier exclaimed after a few seconds.
Rabbon’s tears filled the corners of his eyes. They gleamed with the reflection of the fire that raged at the ruins.
“That’s an unfortunate number,” the lieutenant said to himself. “So faraway from the Light, but not yet on the Darkside. What should I do?”
“What are you talking about?” I snapped at him. “You said it must be sixty-percent to…”
A piercing pain exploded in my cheek. I didn’t fall to the ground only because the two soldiers, whose iron grips would sooner tear off my arms than let go of me.
“Please,” Simona pleaded to the lieutenant. “She’s mentally impaired. She doesn’t…”
The lieutenant’s hand hit her face, leaving a red slash across the left cheek.
“One more word and I’ll execute everyone here without offering you a chance to step into the Light!”
“Fuck you!” I screamed. Flames sprung all over me. He could beat me all he liked but laying a finger on Simona? This was a step too far.
“Subdue her!” A shout came out of somewhere. My thoughts became muddled, and the distance between me and the world grew. Was this one of my infamous eruptions? Simona has warned me to keep my emotions in check.
“She must be one of the elementals.”
“Use the Nega—”
A fire erupted out of me, invoking the screams of rage from the two Dragon Soldiers that have held me. It vanished the next second. I blinked, shocked and confused. My fire disappeared, how?
Steps drew my attention. A soldier with a green cape and a long ornated staff, which was decorated with a shining blue gem at the top, approached without haste.
“Lieutenant Rox,” the newcomer said with a thick accent. “I took the liberty of dealing with this supernatural. She indeed seems to be an elemental. Rare to find one in the Wastelands.” Something in his voice didn’t sound right. He wasn’t sure of his assessment. Simona gave me a tired look. Once more I’ve gotten us into trouble.
“Warlock Raspin, what do you mean? Why are you here?” Lieutenant Rox wasn’t pleased with the presence of the warlock. Clearly, these two didn’t love each other.
Raspin’s eyes locked on me.
“I was sent by demi-dragon Dramer to check on the progress with the hunt. It looks that his timing was impeccable.”
“A demi-dragon is here?” I’d never seen Simona so stirred. She was on the verge of shifting back into a panther. And of course, I was the one causing trouble.
Rust remained quiet as usual. He possessed a stupid habit of staying silent. The rest shivered and begged to be released. I didn’t give a fuck about some demi-dragon. I’ve never met one and all the rumors that had reached me, regarding these halfblood beings, spoke of their monstrous strength. In Simona’s opinion, they must be at least level eight in power. I didn’t even try to imagine the scale of their strength. It’d bend my mind just by thinking about this.
But now, I couldn’t restrain myself from speaking.
“What the hell did you do to my fire?”
“Flare,” Simona snapped warningly. “Stop it.”
“That’s enough,” the lieutenant roared as he drew his sword. He raised it and the voice boomed all around us.
“ROX.”
Waves of power crashed against us. Pressure, unlike anything we’d ever seen, tried to force us down to our knees. The Dragon Soldier descended to one knee, though the rest fell flat on the ground. Screw them.
Rage flared inside me, pushing back the demanding pressure. The two soldiers, who have been holding me, loosened their grips in a short-lived shock. Anger reached critical mass and I took advantage of the moment, smashing them with two fireballs. They shouted something, and again my fire vanished.
Bewitched: A Paranormal Academy Romance Page 16
